10 NYE parties you may not have considered

By Natasha Dragun, for CNN Travel

Updated 1434 GMT (2234 HKT) December 27, 2013

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Byron Bay, Australia – Among the first places in Australia to see the sunrise, Byron Bay hosts one of the country's largest New Year's Eve parties. This year's Falls Music & Arts Festival (December 31 to January 3) features MGMT, Grizzly Bear, The Roots and Vampire Weekend.

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Goa, India – Balmy weather, beaches, outdoor bars and restaurants -- India's smallest state is also one of its biggest party centers. Goan celebrations kick off on December 27 with the three-day Sunburn music festival.

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Prague, Czech Republic – Many Prague locals contribute their own fireworks to New Year's Eve festivities around town. The official show explodes over the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square at midnight.

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Harbin, China – At Harbin's annual Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, visitors can see larger-than-life ice sculptures lit either by lasers or using traditional lanterns.

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Niagara Falls, Canada – Billed as Canada's largest free New Year's Eve extravaganza, the December 31 concert at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls is expected to draw more than 40,000 people.

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Reykjavik, Iceland – December 31 sees crowds converge on 10 bonfires lit around Iceland's capital before revelers make their way to Hallgrimskirkja church, a dramatic 73-meter-high building designed to resemble the country's lava flows.

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Cruise ships, various – If you can't decide on one destination, a cruise offers a roster of ports. All cruise lines ring in the New Year with pomp and ceremony, but a few go the extra mile (see story below).

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Whistler, British Columbia – The Canadian resort village will host a Youth Dance and NYE kids' countdown in Millennium Place, with fire spinners, dancers, circus entertainers, live music and a giant bubble wrap stomp and balloon drop.

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Walt Disney World, Florida – Most evenings at Orlando's Walt Disney World go off with a bang, but the entertainment on New Year's Eve is particularly spectacular. Disney World fills up fast, so it's wise to arrive early.

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Chiang Mai, Thailand – Chiang Mai officially celebrated Loi Krathong (the Festival of Lights) in November, but the dazzling extravaganza is repeated in part on New Year's Eve. Revelers gather on Thapae Road for food stalls, musicians, dancers and paper lanterns released into the sky.

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Story highlights

Australia's Byron Bay hosts one of the country's largest parties on New Year's Eve

January 1 marks the day Czech Republic was created after the 1993 breakup of Czechoslovakia

Paper lanterns filled with wishes are released into the sky in Chiang Mai

Seen the ball drop in New York's Times Square?

Caught the fireworks over Sydney Harbour?

There are plenty of other ways to ring in the New Year.

Byron Bay, Australia

Among the first places in Australia to see the sun rise, Byron Bay in New South Wales hosts one of the country's largest parties on New Year's Eve.

This year, for the first time, the three-day Falls Music & Arts Festival will take over the town from December 31 to January 3, which means tunes from MGMT, Grizzly Bear, The Roots and Vampire Weekend.

Away from the North Byron Parklands, festivities will feature family friendly activities from 9 p.m., plus an early morning event on Main Beach on the first day of the New Year.

If you don't have a ticket to Falls, aren't a local or don't have a hotel booked, you won't get in. The mayor is planning to "lock" everyone else out in order to "curb alcohol-fueled violence and destruction of property in the town."

Balmy weather, beaches, al fresco bars and restaurants -- India's smallest state is one of its biggest party centers.

Goan celebrations kick off on December 27 with the three-day Sunburn music festival -- headliners include Pete Tong, Markus Schultz and Afrojak, among other DJs.

Parties on New Year's Eve range from masquerade balls to beach raves.

If you don't mind crowds, Anjuna Beach has dance performances, Goan folk music and plenty of feni (a local liquor), while the sunset party at Querim Beach's nightclub Kitty Su takes things outdoors with some of the country's top music acts on the sand.

At the Hill Top event, near Vagator Beach, a globetrotting roster of trance musicians will entertain revelers well into New Year's Day.

Billed as Canada's largest free New Year's Eve extravaganza, the December 31 concert at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls is expected to draw more than 40,000 people.

Kicking off at 7.30 p.m. and held against the epic backdrop of Niagara Falls, which straddles the American and Canadian border, this year's event features music from the Sam Roberts Band and Serena Ryder, with Demi Lovato headlining.

The party includes food stalls, entertainers and two fireworks displays, at 8.45 p.m. and midnight.

You can continue the noise on the first day of 2014 with a Journey Behind the Falls tour, allowing you to stand in the mist where the mighty Horseshoe Falls tumbles from a height of 13 stories, traveling at 65 kilometers per hour.

December 31 sees crowds converge on 10 bonfires lit around Iceland's capital before revelers make their way to Hallgrimskirkja church, a dramatic 73-meter-high building designed to resemble the country's lava flows.

The area around Reykjavik's Hallgrimskirkja church will have bonfires and fireworks.

Perlan (The Pearl), a hemispherical building atop Öskjuhlíð hill with a winter garden and dining areas, provides a more panoramic view of town.

Fireworks are sold throughout the city, which means that explosions can be heard from the moment the sky darkens.

The intensity builds toward midnight, when a spectacular choreographed display lights the city.

The festival of lights can often continue on New Year's Day when tourists head off in search of the aurora borealis.

If you can't decide on one destination, a cruise offers a roster of ports.

All cruise lines ring in the New Year with pomp and ceremony, but a few go the extra mile.

Crystal Cruises hosts a balloon drop in the atrium of its two ships, followed by a ship-wide countdown at midnight, with champagne. On New Year's Day, celebrations continue with a boozy brunch.

On December 31, Crystal Symphony will be docked in Sydney Harbour, under the bridge, so you're guaranteed a dazzling introduction to 2014.

Norwegian Cruise Line ships will have fireworks and a captain's countdown from the bridge. "The Pride of America" is scheduled to arrive next to Hawaii's volcanoes on the first day of 2014.

Weather permitting, the Oceania Cruises' fleet will hold New Year's Eve soirees on their decks, as well as parties throughout the ships. Passengers can look forward to live music, noisemakers, party hats and plenty of bubbles.

The Canadian winter sports resort town is hosting a Youth Dance and NYE kids' countdown in Millennium Place, with fire spinners, dancers, circus entertainers, live music and a giant bubble wrap stomp and balloon drop at 9 p.m.

At the Fire and Ice Show, Whistler's best skiers and riders jump through blazing rings of fire as guests dance into the New Year.

A dazzling display of lights and sounds will ring in the new year.

Fireworks are best viewed from Skier's Plaza located at the base of Whistler Mountain, or from the skating rink at Whistler Olympic Plaza.

The attraction -- home to four theme parks, two water parks and 24 themed resorts -- fills up fast, so it's wise to arrive early.

Most of the theme parks welcome visitors an hour earlier than normal and stay open until 1 or 2 a.m. on New Year's Day.

The Magic Kingdom offerings include the Electrical Parade at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., the Holiday Wishes fireworks at 8:30 p.m. and Fantasy in the Sky fireworks at 11:50 p.m.

Epcot will have shows at 6:30 p.m. and 11:40 p.m., plus DJs throughout the evening at the Future World Fountain Stage. Hollywood Studios will showcase fireworks and special effects at midnight with the theme "Mulch, Sweat and Shears" -- a series of four concerts.

The northern Thai city of Chiang Mai officially celebrates Loi Krathong (the Festival of Lights) in the 12th lunar month (this year, November), but the dazzling extravaganza is repeated in part on New Year's Eve.

Locals and visitors gather on Thapae Road (closed to traffic from dusk) around the Thapae Gate, where food stalls line the street and musicians and dancers entertain.

Even before the sun disappears, paper lanterns are released into the sky.

Things are more subdued, but equally illuminating, at the city's Buddhist temples.

Candle-lit shrines at Wat Phan Tao, among others, set the scene for more paper lanterns floating into the night sky, with fireworks at midnight.

At Ping River, visitors can also watch floating lanterns being released onto the waterway.